Our House is Like Grand Central Station Today!

There was drama in the neighborhood last night and all the neighbors came out to watch it unfold. I guess that is both the good and the bad of living in our neighborhood. All the neighbors know you, and therefore know your business - that's the bad. The good part is that all the neighbors know you... and actually CARE about you and your business. It's nice, actually.

Our long-time (40+ years) next door neighbor, Mrs. K, died last night. The houses are close together here on the city block and our bathroom and Mrs. K's bathroom are directly across from each other. I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom and kept hearing Mrs. K's phone ring. Call after call after call - like someone was trying to reach her. Shortly after, I heard her eldest son speaking to someone saying that she was in the bathroom and he didn't know if she fell or what happened. Just as I was about to tell Mom that I thought something had happened to Mrs. K, we heard the fire truck and ambulance coming down the street. The firemen and ambulance pulled up in front of Mrs. K's home and entered. All the neighbors came out to sit on their porches to watch the drama. After about 10 minutes, the firemen came out and stood around their truck. Our neighbor from the other side of our house (the family from Poland) walked over to talk to the firemen. Mom, of course, urged me to go outside and get the scoop. SHE would not go because of her toothless situation. I pulled on a sweater and went outside. Our neighbor told me that the firemen said Mrs. K was dead. A few other neighbors came over to talk. The firemen left, the ambulance turned off it's lights and waited at the curb. Not good signs. Pretty soon, the police came - no lights or sirens. Another bad sign. Mrs. K's eldest daughter and her husband showed up. The police were in and out of the house several times. Finally, the youngest daughter (my friend C) and her family showed up. They had to travel at least 45 minutes from the suburbs to arrive. Then, a HUGE SUV pulled up to the curb. It started raining and all the neighbors went into their homes. Our phone started ringing. All the "old lady" neighbors were calling my Mom for info (as stated before, my Mom knows everything!). We guessed what had happened, but didn't have confirmation yet. Mom went to bed - I think she was really sad and kind of thinking of her own mortality. I stayed up to watch the rest of the drama unfold. It really hit home when the undertaker wheeled the body out on a stretcher and placed her in the back of the HUGE SUV (no hearse, thank goodness!). Wow. Both Mom and I had a difficult time sleeping last night.

Mom had a dentist appoitment at 8:30am today. They took an impression and kept her partial. Now she really looks like a hockey player! Watch out, Duncan Keith! LOL She will once again be back to a normal smile at 1pm Tuesday. ;-)

My friend C and her brother and sister arrived at their Mother's home this afternoon. I went out and talked to C about the arrangements. Mom started making her phone calls. She is the most awesome "news spreader" around! We are the epicenter for information.

This is the second neighbor that has died since I've been back. Both were parents of my friends growing up in the neighborhood, so both really struck a chord. Not a good day in the neighborhood today.